Padang ekspres.net-The National Police Agency decided Thursday to add child abuse to the list of crimes for which it offers rewards of up to 100,000 yen for reliable information provided through an anonymous hotline.

Titled Tokumei Tsuho Dial (anonymous report dial), the hotline currently provides rewards for information on such crimes as organized child prostitution and human trafficking. It did not previously do so for information regarding child abuse because legislation such as the Child Abuse Prevention Law and the Child Welfare Law requires people who discover such abuse to notify children's consultation centers or other public authorities.

However, children continue to fall victim to abuse--as police strongly suspect in the case of 7-year-old Kaito Okamoto of Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, who died Sunday as a result of injuries allegedly inflicted by his parents. The agency therefore deemed it necessary to call for information over a wide range.

The hotline will begin offering rewards for information on child abuse beginning in February.

Information will be accepted by phone at (0120) 924-839 or through the hotline's Web site at tokumei.or.jp. Rewards of up to 100,000 yen will paid in certain cases, such as a victim being taken into protective custody or a case being brought to light.